"What if they went to Paradis? With Zeke? Who knows what they might be able to do there…"

Hanji's ominous words hung in the air like the poisonous fumes that sometimes shrouded the city of Liberio. Armin gasped, turned pale, and then vigorously nodded in agreement, earning him an irritated side-eye from Levi. Gloom and doom were not the sentiments expected from Mr. Genius; they were all entangled in mindless panic when they needed to think rationally. All their meticulous planning had become obsolete the moment Eren had revealed his true intentions, which had been days ago. Where was their new plan?

"I'll go to the Titan facility straight away to check whether Zeke is still there," Hanji's hands were shaking as she put the black hat atop her head. "If he's not, I don't know…," she swallowed thickly. "Levi, we should never have…"

"But we did," he interrupted her. Yes, he had distracted her. Deliberately. To take some of the weight off her shoulders. And he'd do it again, anytime. "We did not guard the asshole ourselves because we trusted Mikasa to do it. We cannot allow distrust to erode the fabric of the Scouts. And for fuck's sake, we cannot stay in the past either, crying over 'should have dones' and 'could have beens'. We move forward. It's what we do. Am I the only one who remembers?"

Zoë regarded him solemnly through her gold-rimmed glasses that enlarged her amber eyes. He wasn't used to her without the eye patch. What did she manage to see with the damaged eye? They hadn't even properly caught up since their reunion. They hadn't talked about the things that mattered, not really. Suddenly, time felt too short, fleeting, like sand running through his fingers, and unease settled heavy in his stomach.

"You are right, Levi," she sighed. "But I cannot believe how careless we were. Mikasa is in love with Eren, we both knew that."

"Maybe. But despite it, she struck me as thoroughly sensible all these years," Levi grumbled. Fools in love. Did all people in love do foolish things? Then, maybe love wasn't worth it?

"Then why?"

Or… maybe it was the only thing that counted.

"He has a sweet tongue, that fucker," Levi shrugged, moving his eyes over Hanji's body slowly. She looked good in her male disguise, it brought out the length of her legs, the shape of her face. Briefly, he wondered whether he would have fallen for her if she was a man - and had to answer in the affirmative. Definitely. All over.

"Levi," she chided him with a frown. "Focus."

"Tsk," he pulled a face at his own silliness. "Hanji, have you heard of something called 'déjà-vu'?"

"What has that got to do with…," she looked at his scowling face, then over at the Doctor's, who was quietly observing their headless milling about with arms crossed in front of his chest. He looked like he hadn't slept much, which, judging from what he had told Levi about his nocturnal activities, he actually hadn't. "Yes, I've heard of it. Help me out, Ernst? It's a potentially pathological phenomenon where an individual feels like they have experienced a situation before. The sensation creates an illusion of memory, a powerful sense of recollection, yet leaves the time, place, and context of the "previous" experience shrouded in uncertainty or even impossibility."

Von Bergmann nodded, tilting his head to the side to scrutinize Levi over the top of his glasses.

"Don't look at me like I'm a specimen to study," Levi growled, "or I'll rip your fucking head off."

"Charming," the Doctor smirked without humor. "Out with it, Ackerman, what's bothering you? If it's a medical condition, I'll do my best to help you."

"I'm not sick," Levi bristled. "But something really weird keeps happening, I cannot quite place it. I have dreams… only that they do not feel like dreams. They feel like memories?"

"I guess you are not talking about the erotic ones," Hanji's lips quivered into a tentative smile about the inside joke.

"Dreams that feel like memories?" Ignoring Hanji's comment that he clearly did not like to hear, von Bergmann pushed himself away from the wall. "Of what?"

"Things that have already come to pass," Levi pressed out reluctantly. "Horrific things. Everybody dies because of gigantic Titans that trample everything. And Hanji… I'm pretty sure it's Eren who's to blame. Of course he is."

"Dreams?" Armin stepped closer too. "Now you mention it… I feel like… maybe… Hasn't he talked about this?"

"You dream of it too?" Levi asked, but Armin just wiggled his head as if the movement might bring clarity.

"You could try hypnosis," von Bergmann suggested dryly.

"No," Levi retorted, pulling a disgusted face. "I won't try anything."

"It's just a form of sleep," the tall man shrugged, looking over at Hanji.

"Sleep?" Levi scoffed. "It's overrated. And don't look over at Hanji when you're talking to me, I'm not a child and I'm not stupid."

"It's not sleep, it's a relaxed state of consciousness," the Doctor explained more slowly, still looking at Hanji. Levi felt like punching him. A lot. He probably thought he could impress her with his bedraggled, unkempt 'notice me I'm a bad boy'-look. "Émile Coué has recently published a paper about it in a periodical. It has been explored as a tool for recovering forgotten or repressed memories, especially traumatic ones."

"Ernst knows how to do it," Hanji chimed in and Levi hated that she now looked at the Doctor too, was this a fucking scientific conspiracy or what? "He has hypnotized me before."

"I don't trust him," Levi lifted an accusing finger in the doctor's direction. He had hypnotized Hanji?! That… couldn't be good, right?! "I don't want him anywhere near my mind."

"He doesn't need to touch you," Hanji stepped closer. Levi suddenly felt crowded and uncomfortable. Good that he was quite self-aware, because this? It was his gut telling him that something was not right. No, he did not want to be hypnotized while Hanji went to the lab. And he did not want Hanji to ever get hypnotized again by Ernst fucking Bergmann.

"I will accompany you," he declared, looking around for his ODM gear, but someone had removed it from the chair he had placed it on yesterday. Wait, he himself had put it upstairs after securing Eren. It was not safe to leave it out like this for anyone to see and take.

"No."

"Yes, I..."

"No, Captain, I forbid it," Hanji went into Commander mode and he immediately straightened his body, a fucking soldier's reaction. That's what they were, a soldier and his commander and he shouldn't forget that. "It is too dangerous. The police are still out looking for you. I'm sure they know that they need to look up too by now! My orders for you are to sit still and wait until I return."

Levi gritted his teeth. Fucking Monkey. If only she had let him kill him! Without him, Eren had no access to a nefarious partner in crime and the world would be a better place.

"You can help me clean some of my equipment," the Doctor suggested. Levi swiveled around to glare at him viciously. "Or we try hypnosis, whatever you'd prefer."

"I'd rather sit in my room all by myself," Levi snapped. Cleaning my ODM gear. That calms me down.

"I'm not sure this much rage is healthy," the Doctor shrugged. "Zoë, should I prepare something for lunch, will you be back? And you, Armin?"

"No," Armin shook his blonde head, "we are meant to run errands today in town. Commander, do you want me to continue working at the pharmacy? Or have our plans changed?"

Hanji put a finger against her nose to think. "I don't see what good it might do if we act prematurely. First, we need to find out where Eren went and whether the worst has come to pass. Then…"

"Explain to me, I don't fully understand," von Bergman said slowly. "What happens if Eren and the War Chief go to Paradis together?"

"The Rumbling," Levi said.

The word held an eerie and unexpected power, he realized as soon as it came out of his mouth. The others stared at him with big, frightened eyes, temporarily frozen on the spot. Had he made a mistake? "Isn't that what it's called?" He was suddenly unsure why he had called it by such a strange name… but yes, that was what it was called for sure.

"I don't know," Hanji cleared her throat. "It sounds familiar but I'm not sure I've ever heard the word before…?"

"Told you something weird is happening," Levi grumbled, "If you listened to me sometimes… Besides, I think this is all the Doc needs to know."

Don't tell him about the royal blood thing, Hanji, he hoped she would be smart enough, and yes, she nodded once, they were in sync. That they suspected that Eren needed someone with royal blood to activate his full powers was something no outsider should ever know if they wanted to keep Queen Historia safe. And now that the Panther was dead, they had a better chance it would remain a secret. That was what they lived on: better chances and near misses. Well, it had kept some of them alive.

"The Rumbling?" The Doctor frowned. "What is it?"

"The release of the Wall Titans," Armin sounded miserable. "Millions of Colossus Titans walking across the world. They would trample everything. All the cities, all societies... They would crush the flora and fauna in every ecosystem. They would literally flatten the world."

"I thought that was just a myth," von Bergmann exhaled, his already pale face growing a few shades paler. "A threat to keep people away from the island. He would not really release them to destroy the world, would he?"

Levi and the others exchanged a look. Unfortunately, nobody who had seen Eren recently would vouch for his sanity.

"Probably not," Hanji laughed, sounding nervous.

"'Everybody dies because of gigantic Titans that trample everything?'" von Bergmann said, raising his eyebrows as he looked at Levi. "A memory, not a dream? Well, I am beginning to believe you when you say that something strange is going on. That is what you see?"

"But that's not… possible?" Hanji made a step in Levi's direction, lifting her hands as if she wanted to grab his shoulders. "Scientifically speaking, it is not possible that you remember something that has not yet come to pass. Or might these be visions? Visions of the future?"

"What the fuck do I know about science," Levi stepped to the side and looked away. "Can we fucking stop talking and start doing things? If you need to catch up with the Monkey, then do it. If Eren has left with him, we go after them as quickly as possible. Let Armin transform, he should be able to catch up to them in his Titan form. We stop them, whatever it takes."

"Yes," Hanji squared her shoulders. "Yes, thank you, Captain. I will go and see whether I can find Zeke Yeager. If not, I'll come back immediately. You stay put, Captain Levi. You go to work, Armin, but stay tuned for a hasty departure. Can we get word to Jean and the others?"

"They will withdraw from the Zone if I do not send them word," Levi assured her. "I told them to do so in case they did not hear from me in 24 hours."

"Okay," Hanji took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's meet back here soon. If I don't come back quickly, Zeke is at the lab. I will attempt to find out what he knows about Eren's plans."

"And then I will kill him," Levi pressed out and left to sit in his room and wait.

###

"You look terrible," Zoë remarked, concern creeping into her voice as the adrenaline rush faded away. She still didn't particularly want to sympathize with Zeke Yeager, but it was becoming increasingly difficult not to. His complexion appeared pallid, with his skin stretched tightly across his skull. Bloodshot eyes were rimmed by dark circles, and his hands trembled as he raised the coffee cup to his lips.

"I feel like shit too," he murmured, slumping against the kitchen counter, "urgh."

"Rough night?"

"You can say that. You?"

"I can't complain," she smiled. A woman could certainly get used to a hard, warm body pressed against hers. Did Levi know he was a cuddler? He always pulled her close, his form wrapping protectively around hers before they drifted off to sleep. It was a wonder she was able to get any rest that way, but apparently, her body found it comforting.

Zeke Yeager had already been in when she had rushed up the stairs, tiredly blinking into a microscope. It was a huge relief to see he was not on his way to Paradis, but now they were back to square one. That he was still here made it likely that Eren remained in Liberio. Doing what exactly though? Nothing that boy did of late made any sense. And Mikasa? Levi's she struck me as thoroughly sensible all these years kept playing in Zoë's head. What had changed?

"Have you spoken to Eren recently?" Zoë asked casually, adding a bit of sugar to her coffee.

"Not really," Zeke pulled a face. "Has this coffee always tasted like vomit with a generous sprinkle of diarrhea?"

Changing the topic? He might be lying, Zoë reminded herself. He might very well have seen Eren last night after his escape, getting or giving some instructions. She had to remain vigilant, however much they got along as two scientists at the Titan Facility.

"I don't believe you," she said. "Why are we even pretending to like each other? We are mortal enemies. There is no way this will end without bloodshed."

Zeke laughed mirthlessly. "Mortal enemies? And here I thought we were friends."

His eyes were tired, yet hard and merciless when he focused them on her. She would happily kill him as soon as she was certain he did not have knowledge they desperately needed. Knowledge he had promised he had.

"You told me you know things," she challenged him.

"I did say that," Zeke pulled another disgusted face and poured his coffee down the drain. "And ever since, you've been trying to get me to spill the beans. Let me give you some well-meant advice, Commander. Never rush a dying man. He might decide to take his secrets to the grave just to spite you."

He was dying? So soon? Zoë's face might have registered some of the shock she felt because he laughed again, pouring himself a new cup from the glass jar.

"Don't tell me you're surprised? I told you I'm close to the end of my thirteen years. And let me tell you that it's not exactly thirteen years. As soon as my successor is ready, they will feed me to him."

"Who is your successor?" She asked.

"As if I'd tell my mortal enemy," he scoffed, "do you think I'm stupid? I know your Rage Imp went to the Zone to sabotage Marley's Titan program. He didn't try to kill anyone though. What happened?"

"He knows a trap when he sees one."

"Oh, does he?" Zeke laughed again, until a cough wracked him that didn't seem to want to subside. "I wouldn't even want to kill him if I don't have to, I'm much too curious about what he is."

"So this 'knowledge' you boasted about," Zoë said. "You don't have it?"

"Would I tell you?" Zeke chuckled, fishing a cigarette from his breast pocket. "I'm growing weaker every day, I'd be a fool not to make you wonder."

"I have long suspected that everyone who knew anything of substance about the Ackermans is dead," Zoë shrugged, and though it was the truth, she felt anger and regret that she might never be able to lift this particular weight off Levi's shoulders. He had never said much in all these years, but she knew he had never fully gotten rid of the fear that his actions were not fully self-determined. That every Ackerman was born to be a slave to someone.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Zoë's hand went to the weapon she didn't carry. She might have staggered. Willy Tybur had entered the kitchen: alone. On deliberately silent feet. Wearing an expensive dark suit with a black tie, and smart black shoes, he had pulled his hair back into a pony-tail, revealing a small tattoo at the side of his neck. Numbers?

"Pleased to meet you, Hange Zoë," he smiled charmingly, his soft features lighting up with what could pass as genuine joy as he extended his hand towards her. "I have heard so much about you and your exceptional intelligence. I am thrilled to finally meet you. Thrilled!"

###

At around noon, the doctor left the house. Levi, who had driven himself half insane with dark thoughts about Eren, Colossal Titans, and Hanji in acute danger, perked up when he heard the door click shut. The doctor's departure was stealthy and quiet, as if he didn't want Levi to notice he was leaving the house, which immediately triggered all of Levi's alarms.

Or maybe, he was just grasping any chance he got to leave the damn house himself. He already had cabin fever and not even three hours had passed.

He had to go after him, that much was clear: There was something very fishy about Doctor von Bergmann and Levi had been ready to find out what it was for several days. Leave a note for Hanji? Maybe not, seeing how he was about to be going against her direct orders to "stay put". She wouldn't have to find out at all, he would only check where the good doctor was sneaking away to and then return - seeing how she had not come back yet, it wasn't likely that she'd returned before evening. Should he take his ODM gear? Levi touched the shimmering metal, the worn leather with his fingertips. Of course he'd take it. No need to walk when one didn't have to.

He donned his gear with precision and speed, each strap and buckle secured with practiced ease. Once the gear was snugly fitted to his body, Levi stepped outside cautiously, made sure nobody was in view, then activated the gas canisters, allowing him to propel himself effortlessly into the air. His movements were swift and graceful as he soared above the city's rooftops, blending seamlessly with the urban landscape. The wind rushed past him, ruffling his shirt and tousling his hair - it felt good. The city's skyline stretched out before him, a maze of rooftops, alleyways, and towering structures. He moved in silence, keeping a safe distance from the doctor, ensuring he remained concealed in the shadows.

Levi's sharp eyes never left his target as the Doctor walked on the wide, orderly streets that were reflecting the affluence of the midtown residents. The buildings were well-maintained, standing tall with ornate facades that harkened back to the architecture of the era. There were plenty of police about, but none of them thought to look up. Of course not. Liberio was just like Paradis, the security officers were just as useless there as here.

As the Doctor ventured towards lowtown, there was a gradual shift in the atmosphere. The transition zone acted as a buffer, where the streets began to narrow, and the buildings lost their grandeur. Storefronts became more modest, displaying faded signs that hinted at a time when they might have been more prosperous. The occasional horse-drawn cart could still be seen, serving as a reminder of a past that had been Levi's present until recently.

Upon reaching lowtown, the change was striking. The buildings here were older, worn, and sometimes dilapidated. Many of them had seen better days but now stood as relics of a bygone era. The streets were narrow and winding, with uneven cobblestone paths. Clotheslines criss-crossed above, displaying tattered garments and linens, creating difficulties for Levi - he had to run across several rooftops because he could not possibly keep swinging with his gear.

The Doctor's footsteps echoed through the alleyways, and the scent of coal and dampness hung in the air. They were not too far away from where their "boxing school" had been and Levi felt a strange pang of nostalgia at the realization. Funny that he was able to miss an aspect of his life here, wasn't it? All of these people would immediately try to kill him if they knew who or what he was. And yet…

Suddenly, the Doctor stepped into a house, Levi almost missed it.

He jumped onto the roof and sat still for a while, pondering his options. Should he go in? If he really wanted to know what the Doctor was up to, he had to. The building itself gave nothing away, it was like the other houses in this street, worn and weathered, its façade reflecting years of neglect. With little effort, Levi pried open the roof hatch and lowered himself into the dimly lit interior of the attic.

The staircase leading down from the rooftop was in a state of disrepair. Its wooden steps were worn and groaned slightly with each careful footfall. Levi stopped and listened, but there was no reaction from below. Levi's boots left faint imprints in the dust that coated the wooden treads. Eventually reaching the bottom of the staircase, Levi stood before a battered door. The floor here was clean, no dust, no footprints. The air itself was heavy with the scent of age, permeated with a mustiness that clung to the walls.

But there was something else, too.

Levi's acute senses detected the subtle yet unmistakable scent of disinfectant, hanging in the air like a thin veil. An involuntary shudder raced down his spine. It brought back memories he had tried to suppress for years, of… torture.

That's all in the past, he squared his shoulders, forced himself to forget. And the Panther is dead. What are you, a stupid ninny?

With a cautious twist of the tarnished doorknob, Levi opened the door to peek through. Another set of stairs. A very faint light below. The faint murmur of voices. The Doctor was engaged in conversation with an unknown individual somewhere out of sight, their words low and secretive. He was too far away to understand what they were saying.

As he descended a narrow staircase, the smell of chemicals and sterile cleaning agents grew stronger, assaulting his senses with its acrid tang. Other unsettling smells began to creep into Levi's awareness: There was the metallic tinge of blood, the faint, sickly-sweet scent of decay, and the smell of unwashed bodies and excrement. It was a nauseating combination that made his stomach churn uncomfortably.

The Doctor said something he couldn't understand. Someone groaned. There was a shuffling, rattling sound.

The basement was shrouded in an oppressive darkness that clung to the air like a heavy shroud. The only illumination came from a distant source of light further down the corridor, casting long, eerie shadows that danced on the damp, concrete walls. Moving stealthily, he crept forward, his boots making no sound on the cold, uneven floor. The voices he had heard earlier grew clearer as he drew nearer to the source of the light.

"...could not foresee that!" The Doctor protested.

"Failure was never an option," a woman answered hotly. The voice wasn't familiar.

"I told you from the beginning that the success was completely uncertain. That we should not rush things. I am sorry, but…"

"Do you have the blood at least?"

"Appius never turned up, I don't know what happened. He promised to give me the rest of his stock."

"I thought the Ackerman is in your house? Both of them?"

The Doctor laughed grimly. "One ran away, the other will kill me the first chance he gets. You try to get his blood, good luck!"

"Oh, I volunteer," a familiar voice snarled. "I will carve the runt up good!"

Bindella! He had already wondered when he would see that crook again. He would have to kill him.

"We need him alive," the Doctor said patiently.

Okay, Levi had heard enough. The Doctor was in cahoots with Bindella, which, Levi was quite certain, he had denied to Hanji's face. As suspected, von Bergmann was a proven liar, and, judging from whatever was going on here, quite likely worse. Time to end the charade!

But when Levi darted forward into the dimly lit room, he encountered a scene nothing short of horrifying, a tableau of unimaginable cruelty and suffering that struck him to his core and made his steps falter. Cages lined the walls, each containing a frail and emaciated gagged human figure, their eyes, if open, hollow with despair. The stench of filth and despair hung heavy in the air, a nauseating testimony of the inhumane conditions they had endured. It filled him with a profound sense of disgust and unimaginable rage, but the split second of hesitation had unpleasant consequences - Bindella, his eyes fixed on him with a cold and unwavering determination, held a gun aimed directly in his direction.

Levi froze.

"Looky who we have here," Bindella bared his teeth viciously. "The runt who killed my brother."

The metallic click of the gun's hammer being cocked reverberated ominously in the confined space, but Levi's attention was instantly drawn to the tall woman before him. She possessed an austere and gaunt face, her hair drawn tightly into a stern bun, and she wore a distinctive black and white dress. Levi's keen instincts and knowledge clicked into place, and he realized with absolute certainty that she was a Titan Shifter. A Shifter they had not yet encountered, one that could only be: The Warhammer.

Their eyes locked, and Levi sensed a flicker of alarm in her widened gaze. There was a hint of recognition, an unspoken acknowledgment of what he was and what she was. Whatever she knew about him seemed to instill a deep sense of fear.

"You are good, but I am sure you can't dodge a bullet fire at this range," Bindella snarled.

"No, we need him al…!"

The discharge of the gun in the closed room was deafening.

###

"Do you know what we do here?" Willy Tybur spoke softly, almost dreamily, the smile never leaving his features.

"I've heard rumors," Zoë wasn't fooled by his demeanor. Of all people in Marley, Willy Tybur was by far the worst. Her hands twitched with suppressed bloodlust.

"Ah," Willy turned towards Zeke. "It is so hard to keep secrets, is it not?"

Zeke shrugged, lighting his cigarette and inhaling deeply. His hand was shaking. "Time is up. No more time for secrets. She knows, I told her."

"Experiments," Zoë pressed out. No need to hide her emotions any longer. "Human experiments. You are trying to breed super-soldiers for Marley."

"You have met my brother, I presume?" Willy looked at her expectantly. "He managed to infiltrate your cities on the Demon Island, and you met?"

Zoë nodded. Appius Tybur was a familiar, poisonous presence in their lives. Whatever he had done to Levi back in the year 845 had scarred him deeply. "He failed to get what he wanted though," she added.

"Yes," Willy still smiled and nodded benignly. "Yes, he failed. He always failed with everything he tried. I on the other hand…"

"What is it you want?" Zoë asked boldly.

"Ah," Willy's smile broadened. "That is a good but sensitive question. I shall answer it straight away, in the interest of time. I want Ymir to die. To disappear from the world. Forever."

"Ymir?!"

"Yes," he nodded his head regally. "Ymir needs to die so that the Eldians can live without her curse. You see, more than anyone else...I wished for the extinction of all Eldians. But I have come to understand that I have failed. And will fail. Again and again. I have come to realize that we will have to turn Eldians into normal human beings."

"But isn't Ymir…"

"A god?" Willy looked at Zeke who ignored him. "Some might think she is. But she can die."

"How?!" Maybe she should have eaten something this morning. Her head suddenly felt hollow as dizziness threatened her balance.

"The Ackerman!" Willy beamed. "He is the key. I understand you are interested in understanding what they are? I know all about it. They are a failed experiment of the olden kings, but they can enter Ymir's realm without her permission. And they can kill her."

"What's the catch?" Zoë did not even try to hide the unsteadiness of her voice. Fuck it. She didn't like this one bit.

Willy shook his head. "No catch. But we need to create a serum in order to sever the connection between Ymir and her subjects first. There have been set-backs."

"My spinal fluid is the key," Zeke grimaced. "But it's not enough, as we now know."

"We think we should try and mix his spinal fluid with Ackerman blood!" Willy exclaimed with a sudden burst of excitement. "We have reason to believe that such a serum would act as a "cure" for Eldians."

She was feeling sick now. There was a catch. For sure there was a catch.

"There is no such cure for Ackermans themselves," Zeke sneered. "They're a problem, always are and always will be."

"They are the solution," Tybur corrected him gently. "They will save us all. Their sacrifice was always meant to be."

Here it was.

"In order to kill Ymir, they need to seal off the Paths completely," Willy explained, leaning forward in his excitement. His breath smelled of strawberries. "They will be forever sealed when that other place will cease to exist for us. How glorious. How glorious and brave. They are the true heroes of Eldia."